


Lost to the Mist

by Willow_Knacker



Category: Ben 10 Series
Genre: ? - Freeform, AU, Action, Ben Tennyson's Twin, Character Death, Comfort, Family, Gore, Hurt, Other, War, fight
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:08:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27678556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Willow_Knacker/pseuds/Willow_Knacker
Summary: The multiverse is a strange place to transverse, with more than its fair share of twists, turns, and dead ends. To leave one's universe is a gamble, and it is one such bet which Lapis, an alternate of Ben Tennyson, did not make willingly.
Relationships: Ben Tennyson & Gwen Tennyson, Kevin Levin & Ben Tennyson





	Lost to the Mist

**Author's Note:**

> The first few to fall.

"They just keep getting darker." Ben mused, considering a bruise that ran the length of his side. He could hide it, easily, and it would heal within a week or two. This one didn't concern him. The dark blue-purple smear blooming around his eye was a far different matter. 

No amount of wishful thinking nor concealer would prevent his parents from seeing it and questioning him of its origin. 'Tell them Cash did it.' He thought. No dice; Cash hadn't laid a hand on him in over half a year. Besides, his dad would drag him to the principle's office to get the matter settled and his mom would tell him to have at the delinquent with tooth and claw. It wouldn't be fair if him to put the blame on someone who, for better or worse, was an innocent. Worse yet was that they'd find out that he'd lied. "I fell down the stairs." He tried instead, speaking to the mirror bolted into the wall and watching his own eyes for any outward show of deceit. 

'The carpeted stairs?' He could practically hear his mother's disbelieving response. It was the eyes, he couldn't look into them and lie without faltering. Couldn't look away without the action broadcasting his fib. "Maybe I should just go public with the whole 'hero' thing." He remarked mirthlessly, turning his attention back to the blemish along his side, pressing a finger against it to alleviate his internal dysphoria. 

An idea struck him, and, with a brush and comb in hand, he undid his ponytail and tossed off his headband, guiding his bangs to obscure the wound. It wasn't enough, as his bangs only went down to his upper cheeks, but it might buy him just long enough for a better excuse to be formulated. Glancing back to his one uncovered lapis eye, the other hidden by chestnut locks, he nodded to himself and began to prepare to go to bed. It had been a long week, and he had a small mountain of assignments to try and catch up on in the morning. For now, he just wanted spend the fleeting hours of the night in his bed. 

It would have to wait. 

A thunderous shriek of energized particles--an energy blast--jolted him from his spot and thrust him into motion. His parents--he needed to find them! Throwing his bedroom door open, he sprinted off into the dust, skidding to a halt when he emerged into the empty bedroom at the end of the hall. He yanked on his bangs in exasperation, 'Of course they're not here!' He chided, his exhausted mind stuttering to recall that they'd be out of town until morning. He made a beeline for their window, slamming it open just as the building gave a tremor. Someone was attacking the house, shooting at it from above. He needed to leave, but what if they shot at him, instead?

Speed was his ally, and it was his best option. Jetray catapulted into the night, shooting away and sweeping himself into a wide, upwards tilted arc. He readied a blast of his own whilst rounding on his assailants, flying close to ensure that his hit would connect before taking off back into the sky. A quick glance to either side told him that they had stopped destroying his house, instead flying after him in turn. As predicted, he was their target, but what caused him to faulted was that his assailants--three--were all bearers, the dial of the Omnitrix jutting from their morphed flesh. On their heads were odd, bulky contraptions which looked almost like masks, or helmets, but functioned as neither. If anything, the devices restricted movement and hindered sight. Their bodies were more suitably clad in black, silver, and purple battle armor. 

One of the masks' visors glowed green, forcing Ben to dodge as another flash of energy rocketed towards him. Were these alternates? They had to be, didn't they? Or, perhaps, someone had finally figured out how to successfully replicate the Omnitrix. 

A few miles from town was a field, whereat Big Chill had once nested. It was large, dry, and devoid of life; a much better suited battleground than the city, with no risk of civilian injury. Ben didn't consider himself to be especially heroic--not nearly as much as his best friend, Kevin--but these airborne attackers proved especially harmful. It was as if they weren't even aiming, merely swinging on autopilot and hoping to land their mark. 

Kevin. He would know what to do, wouldn't he? On his next dodge, he allowed his gaze to stray back towards town, realizing that he would be unable to contact anyone without bringing harm to someone's property or person. 

Now that the only living things were the three masked others, he could fight with no restraint, but that was easier said than done. With a three on one battle, there was no way he could stray from the defensive. What was worse, the three suddenly grew coordinated, honing in and drawing closer with each blast. One such stream of light grazed his ankle, scaled skin searing, but, thankfully, going no deeper than the first layer of dermis. 

One of the assailants flashed towards him, causing him to swoop down closer to the--

The wind screamed as he fell, the flesh surrounding the Omnitrix fried and raw. He realized that the world was speeding towards him soon thereafter. Something, talons, seized his shoulders and yanked him back upright, saving him from the impact. As he was set down onto the hard, dry earth, mind fizzled and vision frayed around the edges, he noticed that there was a fourth figure; earthbound. She was holding something in one hand, a magenta halo lighting Gwen's other. 

At once, everything became shockingly clear, the pain in his burned wrist, the harsh purple glow within the empty mask, it's shine against both the silver ring of skin around her neck and her green eyes. The three first assailants, the Amperi, Necrofriggian, and Aerophibian, were in a semi circle around him, visors alight identically to the one which the not-Gwen held. He threw himself up, realizing that he'd at some point turned back into human form, and steeled himself. He hadn't been ready for when the halo struck him, nor for when the mana ran from his chest to his wrists to tether him to the ground; magic chains pulling his arms taut. His vision blurred when he tried to yank back, the spell squeezing his charred wrist and causing the nerves to scream wordlessly in protest. Or was that sound from him?

He panted, gritting his teeth and trying to bear it, "What do you want? Isn't it enough that you've trashed my house?!" He shot, eyeing the mask with a fearful understanding. 

"Sorry," she said, stepping closer and holding the device out, its glow facing him, "But it's not like we wanted this, either."

**Author's Note:**

> The design for this character wasn't actually by me, but instead was inspired heavily by Lingi-15's design for Ben 15, because I saw it and fell in love with it, so now you will, too! http://lingi-15.tumblr.com/post/102765442775/my-omniverse-oc-ben-15-from-dimension-15


End file.
